MUNCIE, IN - A combination of poor shooting and late foul trouble spelled defeat for the University at Buffalo women's basketball team this afternoon at Ball State. The Bulls dropped a 73-49 decision to the Cardinals, while shooting just 29.0 percent from the floor (18-for-62) in front of 937 fans in Worthen Arena in Muncie, IN. The loss drops the Bulls' record to 4-11 overall and 2-3 in the Mid-American Conference, while Ball State improves to 10-8 overall and 5-2 in the MAC.

Two free throws by Julie Just opened the scoring for the Cardinals, and Ball State never lost the lead for the remainder of the game.

Brooke Meunier

A driving layup by freshman Belinda Gibb (Denmark, Western Australia/Willetton) at the 11:43 mark of the first half got the Bulls within three, 12-9, but Kate Endress answered with a three-pointer and Johna Goff hit two more threes in the next four minutes to help the Cardinals open up a double-digit lead. BSU ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 36-20 lead into the lockerroom.

Sophomore Brooke Meunier (Saginaw, MI/Heritage) sparked the Bulls' offense a bit in the second half, scoring 18 of her team-high 19 points in the final 20 minutes of play. The Cardinals did not let up, however, and they used runs of 11-2 and 9-2 to open up their largest lead of the game at 28 points, 63-35, with just under six minutes remaining. The Bulls, with just eight players dressed to begin with, struggled with depth in the second half and had to play the final nine minutes with just six players after losing senior Kim Kilpela (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield), who fouled out, and freshman Kelly Calderone (Freedom, PA/Ambridge), who was kicked in the face during a scramble on the floor in the closing seconds of the first half and did not return.

Meunier finished with seven rebounds and a team-high four assists along with her 19 points, and senior Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) posted her fourth double-double in the last five games with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Gibb added eight points and three rebounds.

The Cardinals were led by Endress with 20 points, Goff with nine points and eight assists and Jessica Reiter with six points and 11 rebounds. Ball State shot 43.8 percent from the floor in the game (28-for-64) and outrebounded the Bulls by a 50-34 margin.

"We really struggled offensively today, and you aren't going to win in this league when you shoot 29 percent from the floor on the road," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier. "I credit Ball State's defense for some of that. They gave up 100 points to Eastern Michigan at home on Wednesday night, and they were definitely determined to come back with a strong defensive effort today. We don't have too much time to focus on this loss, though, because we have another game in two days."

The Bulls will remain on the road for a game at Northern Illinois on Monday, January 26. Game time is 8:05 pm ET.